


after, after

by katebishoop



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Not S7 compliant, Post-Season/Series 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 07:03:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15552279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katebishoop/pseuds/katebishoop
Summary: Keith's injuries catch up to him. Hunk just happens to be the closest.





	after, after

Keith's falling.

Which is odd, because he could have sworn his feet were on the ground. But there's Shiro's face below him - white hair, bleeding into a white light around him.

Then everything's black.

* * *

"Keith?"

"Keith!"

Hunk was the closest to Keith, so he managed to get him before he face planted right into the ground.

So many voices around him, yelling and trying figure out what was wrong.

"It must be exhaustion." Coran said, "Sure knows we've all been through a lot today."

Keith's mom - Krolia, her name was - was examining her son's face. The harsh burn was blistering on Keith's face, and no doubt it would be a scar. Krolia's ear twitched, and Hunk listened closely too.

"His breathing is uneven." Hunk said. "He may have a broken rib - and if it punctured a lung-"

"Lie him down." Krolia said to Hunk. "Take his armor off - carefully." She stood then, turning to Allura and Coran. "What kind of medical equipment was salvaged?"

Allura looked dejected, een more so by the fact that Lance was holding her up.

"Not much, I'm afraid." Allura said. "We primarily used healing pods - and those were destroyed along with the castle. We have the one you brought Shiro in, but without the power source it's useless."

Allura's body shaked. "I'm sorry, I could heal him, but I don't have-"

"You just guided a soul back into its body." Lance said. "You don't have anything left right now - Keith wouldn't want you to kill yourself for him."

Krolia put a hand on Allura's shoulder. "You need to rest, that's how you can help.

Turning back to Keith, Hunk carefully removed his armor. He started with the chest plates, hoping that would help the breathing a bit.

Pidge kneeled next to him, holding Keith's knife. "Get the rest off, I'll get the undersuit off."

They worked slowly, methodically, until they got the top part of Keith's undersuit completely off.

Hunk could see some dried blood on some parts of his leg, but the life threatening injury was the main priority right now.

Pidge did a scan of Keith's body - not that it was entirely needed, for how bruised and raw Keith's body was- and sure enough he had several cracked ribs, but thankfully only one was broken. And sure enough, it punctured Keith's left lung.

"What can be done?" Krolia crouched down next to them. She was remaining calm, and level headed, but Hunk could sense the edge in her voice, the worry.

"It seems only to be minor." Pidge said. "For now at least. We just need to give him a steady supply of oxygen and keep him lying down until we can get him to a pod or some surgical equipment."

"The healing pods - it should still filter in oxygen, should it not?"

"Yes, but..." Pidge glanced over to where Shiro was, still lying down, with Coran watching over him.

"Helmets!" Hunk blurted out. "We can use his helmet-"

But neither Keith nor Shiro had come back with one.

"Here, take mine." Hunk turned to see Lance above him, holding out his blue helmet. "Mullet needs it more now."

Carefully, Hunk took the helmet ad slipped it onto Keith's head, activating the barrier.

Keith's breathing picked up a little bit, air blowing against and fogging up the protective screen.

"My scan showed a lot of other injuries." Pidge hug her head. "They really, really battled it out..."

Krolia reached over and put a hand on Pidge's shoulder. "They both returned to us, alive. That is what matters." Krolia gently put her other hand on Keith's. "I will need help to get a signal to the Blade of Marmora. Once they have our coordinates a medical team will be sent right over."

"I can help with that." Pidge said. "We can get one from the green lion."

Krolia nodded, then turned to Hunk. "Watch over them - come alert us if anything changes."

Hunk nodded back, and those two headed off.

Hunk looked up at Allura, then turned to Lance. "Allura needs rest, and so do you - Coran and I got it from here."

Lance shook his head. "No, I need to-"

"Lance." Hunk knew he still felt guilty, but he didn't need to be, he just didn't realize that. "Also, should check on Kalteneker?"

Lance looked like he was about to protest, but Allura tugged on his arm, finally caving into her own exhaustion.

It wasn't until they we're gone that Hunk finally noticed Romelle.

She looked worried, her hand buried deep in the space wolf's (???) fur.

"So..." Hunk began, and Romelle did a little start in surprise. "What's that guy's name?"

Romelle blinked at him, and then followed his gaze to the wolf. "Oh. Oh, um. His name Yorak."

“Why, that’s a Galran name I haven’t heard in a long time.” Coran said, shifting in their direction. “Yorak, The Glory of the… oh what was it. Seems I can’t remember all the details. But Yorak was a hero among ancient Galran mythos.”

“He gave his life to save a village of strangers, disguised in the armor of his love.” Romelle said, a little gleam in her eye, then she looked down at Keith. “That’s the part of the story that stuck with me.”

Hunk got the feeling that there was something he was missing - but that was for another time. 

“Coran, switch with me.” Hunk said, shimming over to where the Altean sat. “I should start getting a look at Shiro’s arm.”

Coran nodded, and they swapped. It’s - strange, really strange, to see Shiro with white hair and missing an arm. They’d just seen him -  _ him  _ \- not more than a quintant ago, but the realization that they haven’t seen their Shiro since nearly a  _ year  _ ago?

Frankly, it made Hunk sick to his stomach.

So did Shiro’s arm. Keith did a clean cut - they knew it had to have been him, how else? - but the metal of the arm was much higher than it used to be. Since this was still the clone’s body, there was no telling what kind of programming and upgrades they did to it.

A quick scan told him nothing - it was offline. The arm had all the power, and with it gone, it was just a piece of metal over his shoulder - or, was his shoulder?

Hunk leaned down so he could see the cut off point of the arm. There were a few wires sticking out, and carefully he-

Shiro gasped, eyes wide, like he’d be electrified.

“Keith!” Shiro panted, frantic. “Where am-”

“Hey hey.” Hunk put his arms on Shiro’s shoulders to keep him lying down on the ground. “You’re good, Shiro. Your safe. I didn’t realize touching your arm would do that, Sorry-”

Shiro’s eyes were wide though, frantic and searching the sky, his breathing ragged.    


“Keith!”

Carefully Hunk placed his hand on the side of Shiro’s face, and tilted it towards the left so he could see Keith lying down just a few feet away from him.

“Keith’s right there.” Hunk said. “He’s fine. He’s resting.”

While Shiro’s breathing got a bit steadier, he didn’t look convinced and honestly why would he? Keith was breathing shallowly with the blue helmet on and Coran and Romelle hovering over him.

“I did that to him.” Shiro voice caught.

“Shiro, that wasn’t-”

Shiro’s gaze cut off Hunk.

“I did that to him.” Shiro said with all the energy he had. “I can remember the look in his eyes when I burned him. I remember the sound of bones crushing, I remember the feeling of wanting to-”

Jeez, Oh- “Shiro, Shiro calm down.” Shiro was getting panicked, and god that wasn’t good, no not at all. “You need to relax- Shiro-”

Romelle and Coran rushed to his side. Shiro was hyperventilating, working himself ragged when he’s already been through the ringer. 

“Romelle, go get Allura!” Coran ordered and she ran. He was holding Shiro’s head, keeping his face looked up at the sky, to keep him from thrashing around.

Hunk felt a lump in his throat and tears welling in his eyes at the sight of Shiro. 

Allura kneeled down next to him, Lance over her. She placed her hands on his cheeks, and-

Shiro slumped, eyes closing. 

Allura was out as well. That was all she had left, right now.

“What happened?” Lance asked, and from behind him Hunk could see Krolia and Pidge rushing over.

Hunk swallowed. “Shiro woke up and - he remembered. He has memories of his fight with…”

They all turned to Keith, who was still lying on the ground giving shallow breaths.

Pidge took off her glasses and rubbed between her eyes. “We managed to get a signal out to Kolivan - they should be here in about eighteen vargas.”

“Does Keith have that long?” Lance asked. He was holding Allura up against his chest, her head falling on his shoulder. “Allura can’t keep this up - for either of them.”

“He is strong.” Krolia knelt by her son. “He has persevered through worse.”

That wasn’t comforting - if anything that was more worrying. Keith got seriously hurt on the space whale? Or was she referring to things Keith told her from before? Either way, how Keith survived that doesn’t correlate to what he has to survive now and-

Hunk looked up to see Coran with a hand on his shoulder, a small smile under his mustache. Everyone was looking at him and - oh,  _ OH _ , he must have been thinking out loud again.

“Whoops.” Hunk shrunk back shyly.

Krolia turned to Coran and Romelle. “We need to get them inside. Get Shiro in the pod -” She turned back to Hunk. “You’ll need to carry Keith.”

Hunk gulped. Okay then.

Lance and Krolia got on either end of Keith, Hunk to Keith’s side. Carefully, they lifted him up as straight as possible and slid him into Hunk’s arms. Hunk shook as he carefully - and, wobbly - stood up.

Keith had come back changed. He’d come back looking bigger and older - because well, it had been two years for Keith. He wasn’t small like he used to be, he was still lean but there was definitely more muscle. He probably had outgrown his Number 4 status. But still - there was something fragile and delicate about the body in his arms.

Somehow he managed to get Keith into the Black Lion without killing him. Hunk would call that win to say the least. He set him down on some blankets, on some crates in the cargo hold. Shiro’s pod next to him. If you ignored the blood and scars and missing limbs, they could almost be peacefully asleep-

Hunk froze at the sound of a groan. His eyes snapped to-

“Woah, woah Keith-” Hunk put his hands gently but firmly on his shoulders. “You really don’t want to move. You kinda got a rib in your lung and-”

“Oh, so that’s it.” Keith mumbled as his eyes opened. Did they seem more purple than before? No, they can’t, it’s just the purple light of the Black Lion-

Hunk mentally scolded himself. Now was not the time to get lost in Keith’s eyes.

“Where’s-?”

“Shiro’s right here.” Hunk said. “No- don’t turn your head. You really shouldn’t move at all for like the next, eighteen vargas? Here just hold on-”

Hunk released Keith and went the short distance to Shiro’s pod. He moved the pod so that it was right up against the crates that Keith was lying on. Hunk took Keith’s hand, and moved it fractionally so that it was touching the pod.

Hunk felt a pang in his chest when he saw that that made Keith relax ever so slightly.

Keith sighed - then winced. He brought out small smile, one that he could manage. “Thank you, Hunk.”

Hunk smiled back at him. “You should also try to steady your breathing. And maybe not talk.”

Keith gave him a look that read:  _ I understand but I’m not happy about it. _

“Good. Yeah. Rest, for once. You need it.” Hunk scratched the back of his head. “Everyone else is outside, I’ll let your mom - I still want that full story by the way because what you found your mom wait anyway Hunk focus. I’ll let her know you’re awake.”

But before Hunk could - he screamed. Because now there was a giant space wolf on top of him, licking his face, oh god-

"Yorak." Keith says through gritted teeth - not anger, but the pain. Yorak gets off Hunk immediately and goes to Keith's other side, his big nose next to Keith's head. "He likes you, Hunk."

Oh, sure he does.

Hunk pulled himself up to his feet. The sight, of Shiro, and Keith, together - now with their space wolf-dog. 

He smiled down at Keith. "Get some rest, you've earned it." 

Keith thankfully didn't speak, but his expression was easy to read: _"We've all earned it."_

After everything they've been through, Hunk is going to take full advantage of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Season 7 is in a WEEK and I can't process that so hope you enjoyed my ramblings.


End file.
